Lawmakers push for sanctions as irgc claims ramped up missile production the weekly standard best universities world

Top lawmakers are pushing to expand sanctions targeting iran’s revolutionary guard corps (IRGC), amid a declaration from a senior IRGC official that iran’s missile production has tripled.

The IRGC permeates iran’s economy and political system, oversees iran’s missile program, and, with the help of its elite quds force, “has played a central role to iran becoming the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror,” according to the treasury department. The trump administration in october designated the IRGC over its support for terrorism—and now lawmakers are looking to further squeeze the guard’s revenues.Missile program

Top lawmakers are pushing to expand sanctions targeting iran’s revolutionary guard corps (IRGC), amid a declaration from a senior IRGC official that iran’s missile production has tripled.

The IRGC permeates iran’s economy and political system, oversees iran’s missile program, and, with the help of its elite quds force, “has played a central role to iran becoming the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror,” according to the treasury department. The trump administration in october designated the IRGC over its support for terrorism—and now lawmakers are looking to further squeeze the guard’s revenues.Iran’s missile

A bill introduced last week by the top republican and democrat on the house foreign affairs committee would crack down on front companies that the IRGC uses to finance iran’s weapons testing at home, as well as its support for proxy forces abroad.

“the revolutionary guards corps bankrolls terror and iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program,” california congressman ed royce said in a statement. “yet hundreds of its front companies have yet to be sanctioned. This bipartisan bill will close that gap. It will cut off cash to a terrorist group that has the blood of hundreds of americans, and countless syrians, on its hands.”

iran’s missile

The congressional push comes after the intelligence community released its yearly worldwide threat report, which concluded that iran has the largest ballistic missile inventory in the middle east. Bolstering that assessment, senior IRGC commander amir ali hjizadeh reportedly said wednesday that iran’s missile production “has increased three-fold compared to the past.”

“the obama administration walked on eggshells with iran, and the revolutionary guards corps took full advantage,” royce told THE WEEKLY STANDARD. “it has used the windfall of cash from a deeply-flawed nuclear deal to export terror and accelerate its ballistic missile program.”

missile production

Thursday’s legislation would broaden existing sanctions authorities by authorizing the administration to sanction entities in which the IRGC has a stake of less than 50 percent. Hawkish sanctions experts have long called on the administration to lower the 50 percent ownership threshold. They note that the guard tends to establish shell companies that don’t reach the threshold. This allows foreign businesses to work with minority-owned IRGC companies and face less sanctions risk, though still fueling the IRGC’s terror operations.

“this bill significantly steps up the capability of the U.S.Missile program to target transactions that benefit the IRGC, as well as their agents and affiliates which have made a mockery of the genuine–and diminishing–iranian private sector,” said behnam ben taleblu, an iran analyst at the foundation for defense of democracies. “the bill also signals american resolve to go after financial institutions that continue to underwrite or facilitate the malign activities of iran’s IRGC or its agents and affiliates.”

In addition, the legislation expands mandatory sanctions against the IRGC over its support for the bashar al-assad regime. And it requires reports on the influence of the IRGC in the iranian economy.Missile production

“the various reporting requirements in the bill help to provide clarity about the iranian business scene, who exactly is owned or controlled by the IRGC, and what banks and businesses they use,” taleblu told TWS.

The weekly standard http://assets.Weeklystandard.Com.S3.Amazonaws.Com/tws15/images/logo-large.Png the weekly standard 2018 washington, DC politics 2018-03-07 http://www.Weeklystandard.Com/lawmakers-push-for-sanctions-as-irgc-claims-ramped-up-missile-production/article/2011852 2018-03-07T16:04 2018-03-07T16:46 lawmakers push for sanctions as IRGC claims ramped up missile production top lawmakers are pushing to expand sanctions targeting iran’s revolutionary guard corps (IRGC), amid a declaration from a senior IRGC official that iran’s missile production has tripled.Missile program

The IRGC permeates iran’s economy and political system, oversees iran’s missile program, and, with the help of its elite quds force, “has played a central role to iran becoming the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror,” according to the treasury department. The trump administration in october designated the IRGC over its support for terrorism—and now lawmakers are looking to further squeeze the guard’s revenues.

A bill introduced last week by the top republican and democrat on the house foreign affairs committee would crack down on front companies that the IRGC uses to finance iran’s weapons testing at home, as well as its support for proxy forces abroad.Iran’s missile